Dark One, Light One
by Hammermaster
Summary: Is it truly possible to fight yourself? Light Link and Dark Link, both from opposite worlds, both forced to fight each other to save their dimension. Which will prevail? Or will they be trapped in that room forever?


**Dark One, Light One**

Opposite Worlds, resting right on top of each other. Identical they are, and at the same time, different. Identical people walk identical streets to identical places. Everything in the two worlds were exactly the same. Except for one thing. Light fills one world while the other is filled with darkness.

But a creature, one of neither darkness or light, watches the two worlds as two young men strive for the same goal in the different dimensions. The creature, takes residence in both worlds at the same time, coming in the form of an evil man. For the two worlds are trapped in a war between the forces of good and evil. In both, the creature goes by the same name. Ganondorf. Unlike others, the creature walks in both dimensions at the same time. But to the two worlds, he is an enemy, a hateful, evil creature. For both worlds, while opposite in color, still share the same moral values. Everything identical, but the color. Even the people walking the streets are identical, with identical thoughts, and identical beliefs, but different souls. Different they are, but identical.

Two men, both by the same name, fighting for the survival of their worlds. Fighting against the creature's light and dark forms. But the creature is cunning, and intelligent. The creature knows that he can turn the dark world against the light world, causing the two dimensions to fight to the death. But there is only one way to do such a thing. The one point where both dimensions intersect. The one place where creatures from the dark world can meet with creatures of the light world.

For the dark man and the light man both must travel to that room in their quests, and then the decision will be made, which world will live, and which will die. Ganondorf prepared this, Ganondorf caused it. Both men, would have to fight to the death. But how would they fight? They, identical people, would fight with the same attacks at the same time. For the two of them would have the same thoughts at the same time.

But never the less, they met. The two identical men traveled through ancient temples which both rested at identical places in both worlds. In the light world the temple lay at the bottom of a lake of water. In the dark world the temple lay at the bottom of a lake of sulfur.

Both men fought through the challenges of both temples, before entering the room in which the two dimensions come together. They came into the room from opposite doors, and found themselves in a world much different than either of them had ever seen. It was light, but at the same time dark. The room was white, but the white seemed almost black, as if it was a very light shade of gray. The floor was covered in a shallow liquid which seemed somehow like water and sulfur at the same time. It was neither toxic to either of the two men, for as sulfur is poisonous to people from the light world, water is poisonous to people from the dark world. The air was filled with a thick mist, obscuring whatever walls this room might have, but imagine the two men's surprise when they realized that the room had no walls. It was just and empty, misty, white/light gray world with two doors standing at opposite sides of it.

But their surprise was greater when they looked upon each other. The dark man was dark gray, with a shadowy figure. The light man was brightly colored, dressed in forest green clothing with a forest green hat on his head. The dark man was dressed in the same clothing, except they were colored shades of dark gray. Their faces were identical, except that the dark man's was shadowy and voidy, while the light man's was solid and colored in colors which the dark man had never seen before.

Both men regarded each other thoughtfully, trying to understand what was happening. Identical were their faces, identical were their thoughts, and identical were their names. Link. Light Link, and Dark Link. Each had brought a friend with them. A fairy which flew just above their right shoulders.

"Link," both fairies said at the same time. "That man over there. He is the opposite of you. He guards the door which you need to go through."

How true that was. After both Dark Link and Light Link had entered through their opposite doors, they had clanged shut, and bars had come down, barring the way. The creature, Ganondorf, was sneaky. The only way for the bars to move was if one of the men were killed. How crafty a plan this was, for each man needed to go through the door which their counterpart guarded, but if one died, then he would be unable to save his world from the creature.

Light Link was solid, and brightly colored, while Dark Link was shadowy, and dull gray in color. But how can you fight yourself? Light Link decided to ask Dark Link who he was, and if he knew how the two of them looked exactly alike. But when Light Link took a step forward, Dark Link did as well. Identical they were in looks, and thoughts. They had thought the same thing at the same time.

"Who are you?" both said at the same time.

"I'm Link," they both said, to answer the other one.

"We both look exactly alike," they both said again, "except of different colors."

At this, both stopped talking, for they realized what was going on. They were essentially equal in shape and thought, so the answers to all their questions existed in their own minds. When Light Link asked a question, so would Dark Link. And their answers would be identical as well.

_You are me, _both Links thought, _so how is it that we can both exist?_

Neither had the answer to that question.

_Who created you? _each wondered. _Ganondorf? You, are you an evil version of me created to destroy me?_

For as a dark version of the light man would be thought of as the evil version of the other in the light world, the opposite would be believed in the dark world.

_So I must kill you to get through the door, and you won't let me through._

_You wish to destroy my world._

Both then drew their swords at the same time.

_I won't let you kill me._

They then both charged at the same time. Light Link slashed at Dark Link's right side, and Dark Link did the same. Their blades clanged together halfway to their targets, for both had attacked the same way. They then split apart, and slashed at each other's left side. Once again, their blades clanged together. Then they slashed again, and again, and again.

_Oh, you seek to defeat me by mimicking my attacks? Well lets see you mimic this!_

Both Link's then sheathed their swords, and pulled out identical bows.

_Take this!_

The arrows both shot out, straight, for both men were straight shots. But both had also aimed for their enemie's heart. The arrows shattered through the chest's of both men, and pierced through the heart, the most vital of all organs.

"Nooo!" both screamed at the same time.

Now both would die, and both worlds would perish. Ganondorf had foreseen this, as they could not fight each other. A pool of blood formed around both of them, one shadowy and gray, the other bright and red.

_Malon, _both said, both having identical girls which they loved, _I only wish I could have helped you._

But suddenly, a fairy flew up into the air above both men, one pink, one blackish gray. Then, both fairies encircled their corresponding Link, and healed his flesh.

_I am alive now. I will live. But the other must die._

They both stood back up, moving in the exactly same way. Then, both of them walked up to each other. They drew their swords, but did not attack. Instead, they circled around each other, staring each other down. When one moved to his right, so did the other, each moving at the same time. Finally both of them had enough. They both leaped forward as if to attack at the same time, but stopped when they saw what the other was doing. They landed about a foot away from each other, and looked into each other's eyes.

_You look like me. You mimic my attacks with cunning precision. The only way this could be possible is if..._

They then remembered that they both had the same thoughts.

_I want to kill you so that I can save my world. So, you want to kill me so that you can save your world? How can this be? I am against the forces of evil, so you must be against the forces of evil. But here we are, forced to fight to the death, when we hold nothing against each other. I fight Ganondorf's forces, so you must as well. At least, whatever Ganondorf you have in your world. But neither of us can leave this world without killing the other. What if I were to kill myself so that you could save your world? No, if I bring my sword to my neck, then you will as well, for you think the same way as I do. If in a fight, I drop my sword to let you kill me, you will drop yours as well. The two of us could never agree on which one must die, for our thoughts are equal. Even if I decided to kill you, you would decide to kill me. If I decided to let you kill me, you would decide to let me kill you. I know you have the same thoughts as you do, but one of our worlds must live, so I will try letting you kill me anyways._

"Kill me," both said, "and then the door will open to you, and you will be able to save your world."

But then neither of them knew what to do. Light Link waited for Dark Link to kill him, while Dark Link waited for Light Link to kill him.

"You kill me, seriously. You must understand, I know you are asking me the same thing, but if you decide to kill me, and I decide to let you kill me, then it will work."

But no. They both decided to listen to the other, and took a step forward to kill the other. But when they tried to reverse that thought when they saw the other move, it didn't work either. Identical thoughts, thought at identical times.

"We can't just stay here in this room, for then who will save our worlds? If we work together, can we somehow leave this room?"

But how would that work? The only way to get out was to fight. So both stood to fight again. This time, they both stabbed at each other's shoulder, but of course, both were wounded by this.

_If I stab, you'll stab. If we drop our weapons and try and fight without them, our punches will collide, and we will both break our fingers._

Dark Link thought of a way to get out of this. If he were to slash at the very right side of his enemy, while coming from the right side, then their blades would not clang together, for Dark Link would be coming from his right side. But then both would still be wounded.

_If I were to kick his blade away right before he were to slash me, then I would slash him, and he wouldn't be able to._

So Dark Link swung his blade at the far right side of Light Link, and Light Link did as well. Then Dark Link swung his leg up, and kicked Light Link's weapon away. But Light Link did the same. Light Link had thought of the same method.

"We have to think opposite thoughts," they both said. "That's the only way we can get out of this."

But how is it possible to think opposite thoughts when they both have identical thoughts? The only way would be to delay the thinking of one for a while. But that was impossible. Both men picked up their swords and sheathed them.

_What if I had both swords? What if I took your sword? Then you wouldn't have a sword to kill yourself with when I try to kill myself._

Light Link walked towards Dark Link to take his sword, but so did Dark Link. Identical thoughts. Dark Link reached for Light Link's blade, as did Light Link reach for Dark Link's blade. Now they both held each other's sword. Not much of an improvement.

"Now, you take your blade, and kill me with it. I won't grab my blade and..."

But both had said they wouldn't grab their blade, so nothing happened. Their wasn't any way they would get out of the room. They then realized that fighting would get them nowhere. Their was no way they could make it work. Both Link's ignored their swords, and sat down on the ground, opposite from each other. They just sat, and stared at each other, and thought about this predicament. Finally, they both got bored, and decided to talk to their counterpart. But how can you talk to yourself?

"Hello," they both said at the same time.

"This is a weird predicament we are in, isn't it? Everything I say, will be repeated by you exactly the way I said it. How did things end up this way? You wish to save your world, and I wish to save my world. But neither of us can die without the other dying. Not because we are tied together, but because we have the same thoughts."

They paused, and just looked at each other for a little, before starting back up again.

"So what is life like in your world? Is it pretty there?"

They then began to answer themselves, for the other was saying the same things.

"Yes, it is quite pretty there. I like it a lot. I wonder what your world looks like?"

Another pause.

"But what if my world is the only one which exists? What if yours doesn't? What if you are just a reflection of me, which does exactly the same things I do? Well, I guess we'll never figure that out."

They both sighed, and rested their chins on their hands.

"But there might be a way to find out. Reflections aren't solid."

Both of them stood, and walked up to each other. They then both reached out a hand to the other. They grabbed each other's hands, and felt each other's flesh. To Light Link, Dark Link's flesh felt cold and clammy. To Dark Link, Light Link's flesh felt uncomfortably warm, and as dry as the scorching winds of the desert.

"You don't feel pleasant to me."

They then moved their hands down each other's arms, until they were at each other's necks. They then continued, down each other's chests, feeling the material which their clothing was made of. Light Link's clothes felt too cool and airy to Dark Link, while Dark Link's clothes felt too warm, and starchy to Light Link. Then, their hands moved to the left side of each other's chest. Beneath the clothing, they felt a heart beating in equal intervals. Their heart beats both sounded and felt the same.

"Our colors are different," both Link's said. "Our flesh feels different. Our clothes are different. But our hearts are the same."

Now they both knew that the other was as human as they were.

"I can't kill," they said. "No, I know I can't physically kill you without killing myself, but I can't kill you, for you are human, and you have done nothing wrong."

"But if one of us doesn't die, then both worlds will fall," they answered themselves.

"If only our identical thoughts were not synchronized together so perfectly. If only their was a difference between our thoughts."

They then backed away from each other, and sat down again, resuming their former positions.

"Do you like horses?" they asked each other.

"Yeah, I do," they replied. "I have a horse back in my world named Epona. She is a great animal."

Then, both of them stopped, and sighed, both remembering identical things in their worlds.

"She was given to me by this girl, Malon," they said.

"Holy crap, our girls even have the same names," they replied.

"Indeed. Everything about us is equal. But dang, Malon is so beautiful. That is my biggest regret about being trapped in this room with you. You know, I love Malon, I really do. I have loved her for so long. And I never got a chance to tell her this. When I was leaving her ranch the last time, when I was on my way to this temple, I almost told her. But believe me, it is hard to admit feelings like that. Everyone always says that you should just go ahead and tell them, but it doesn't work that way. What if she doesn't share my feelings? Or what if she only partially likes me, and when I tell her that I love her, she is shocked, so much. For what if she would come to love me in time, but telling her now would ruin that? Dang! Why is life so difficult?"

Both then stopped, and began thinking about their loves.

"But Malon, she's so sweat," both Link's said. "Her hair, her eyes, everything about her is beautiful."

"Her hair is such a beautiful red, and her eyes are..." Light Link stopped.

For at the same time, Dark Link had said: "Her hair is such a beautiful light gray, and her eyes are..."

Both of them both realized it at identical times. There was a difference between the way they thought. Colors were different in the two worlds, so when thinking about identical things, they could begin thinking of different colors.

"Maybe if we both think about Malon's hair color, then we can split apart our thinking."

Light Link then thought about Malon's red hair, and Dark Link thought about Malon's light gray hair. And as they thought about these colors, the colors began to remind them about things in their worlds which were the same color as Malon's hair. In the light world, many things were red. Foxes were reddish, certain carpets were red. In the dark world, many things were light gray. Foxes were light gray, certain carpets were light gray. But as gray and black were the only colors in the dark world, all colors were so similar. Light gray was a very fluid concept. It is difficult to differentiate between light gray, and only slightly darker gray. The human eye can not conceive such differences very easily. But it is easy to differentiate between yellow and red. So as the thought of red made Light Link think about foxes and red carpet, the thought of light gray made Dark Link begin to think about foxes, light gray carpet, but then about light gray flowers.

Suddenly, in one perfect motion, their thoughts became unsynchronized, for now they were thinking of different things. Light Link continued thinking about foxes and red carpets. Dark Link thought about foxes and carpets for a short time, but then the color light gray began to remind him of light gray flowers. He remembered picking a bunch of them for Malon. Light Link had picked yellow flowers for Malon once as well, but the color red did not remind him of them.

"Did it work?" Light Link asked, and noticed with joy, that Dark Link had not said the same thing at the same time.

"It worked!" Dark Link said, leaping to his feet.

They two of them then began to cry out in happiness, but their cries were not identical.

"We did it!" Light Link shouted.

"Yeah!" Dark Link said at the same time.

"Now we can actually talk without saying the same thing at the same time," Light Link said.

"And we can fight as well."

The two of them then stopped. After all that, neither wanted to kill each other. Maybe at the beginning they would have, based on their assumptions because of color.

"But I don't want to kill you anymore," they both said at the same time, and then shrieked, in fear, thinking that their thoughts had somehow become resynchronized again. But no.

"Oh dang," Dark Link said. "That gave me quite a shock."

"Oh yeah," Light Link said. "But what now? I guess I'll let you kill me. One of our worlds must survive."

Light Link then arched his head back, leaning his neck out for Dark Link to slash open. Dark Link drew his blade, and looked at it thoughtfully.

"One of our worlds must survive," Dark Link said.

Light Link then closed his eyes, and awaited the blow. But no blow came.

"If I kill you," Dark Link said, "I will be killing a man, an innocent man. And worse, I will be causing your world to fall into..." Dark Link stopped here, for he was going to say "fall into light," just as people of the light world would say "fall into darkness." For in both worlds, people associate dark and light with Good and Evil, for as Good and Evil are opposites, so are dark and light. But in the light world light is used to represent good, while in the dark world it is used to represent evil.

"I love Malon," Dark Link said. "And if there is a Malon in your world who is exactly the same as the Malon in my world, then I don't want to cause her harm, even if she isn't my Malon. I won't kill you."

"But then how can we escape this room?" Light Link asked.

Dark Link smiled. "What do you think would happen if the light and dark energies came together? What would happen? Something powerful would erupt from the point of impact, don't you think? Opposite forces conflict with each other when they come into contact. Does not good conflict with evil when they come together?"

"You're right," Light Link said. "You are right."

Dark Link smiled again. "Come on partner. Our Malons are waiting for us."

Dark Link then held a helping hand down to Light Link. Light Link grabbed his hand, and Dark Link helped him to his feet.

"It was very nice meeting you, brother," Light Link said.

"Likewise, brother," Dark Link said. "Yes, we may as well call each other brothers. After all, we are identical.

They both stepped up to the door Light Link came in through. Then they both stabbed their swords into the door. They focused the energies of the medallions they had both received from two identical men named Rauru. Light Link channeled the energies of the Light Medallion into the door, and Dark Link channeled the energies of the Dark Medallion. The door began to glow, not black, or white, but neutral gray. The result was an explosion so powerful, that it sent both men flying off in different directions. The door was completely incinerated, leaving an empty doorway standing right at the end of the room. Light Link stood, and walked over the Dark Link.

"You okay?" Light Link asked.

"Yeah," Dark Link said as Light Link helped him to his feet.

The two of them then went to the other door, and channeled their opposing energies into it. The opposing powers of light and dark came together again, repelling each other. The door split apart as the explosion erupted from the epicenter, and once again, the two men were tossed away from the door.

When a positron and an electron come together the result is the complete conversion of both particles into pure energy. But what strong energy it is. The same result is true with the energies of light and dark. When they come together, the result is the complete anhilation of both, and the creation of such strong energ. So, with the properties of opposite compounds, created by God in his wisdom, the two identical men were able to escape the unescapeable chamber without killing each other.

They stood back up, and turned to each other.

"Now we can go home again," Light Link said.

"Yes," Dark Link said. "We have found a way to escape."

"Thank you... brother," Light Link said with a smile.

"Will we ever see each other again?" Dark Link asked.

"Probably not," Light Link said. "Our lives are a world apart."

"Yeah," Dark Link said, "literally."

The two of them laughed at the bittersweet joke. They then shook hands.

"Your flesh doesn't feel so bad anymore," Dark Link said with a grin.

"Neither does yours," Light Link said.

"But we will be able to see each other again," Dark Link said.

"How's that?" Light Link asked.

"This room," Dark Link said, "will forever be between the two dimensions. After we both defeat Ganondorf in our worlds let's meet back here, and we'll both bring our Malons as well."

"You have my word," Light Link said. "I'll miss you, brother."

"Same here," Dark Link said. "It's been a pleasure."

They then shook hands for the last time, before walking off into the opposite door than the one they had entered through. When they entered, their thoughts still were left unsynchronized. And they would be unsynchronized forever, for now their thoughts weren't identical, and they never would be again. And as they moved through their world, and fought the forces of evil, their worlds slowly began to become unsynchronized. For when one of them went to see a certain person, that didn't mean that the other did as well, causing the person which was visited to think of different things than their counterpart in the other world. Was that a bad thing? No longer were the worlds identical as they were before. Was that wrong? Were the worlds meant to be identical, until they began to fight to the death? Was it wrong that the two men from the two worlds, destined to meet each other some day had managed to save the two worlds they lived in instead of fighting to save their own?

But now both worlds survived as opposed to one of them dying, as had been the plan. Was not that a good thing? The evil one, Ganondorf was destroyed in both, causing his complete death. Was not that a good thing? Children, with different lives and different futures, but identical features now could run happily in the fields of the two worlds instead of living in fear. Was that not a good thing? In both the light and the dark world, both Light Link and Dark Link defeated Ganondorf, saving the two worlds. The ruined worlds began to heal, and the people of each made Link the hero of their world. Was that not a good thing? The two Link's also eventually managed to confess their love to their Malon, and they were married soon after Ganondorf was killed. And the weddings were not identical. When they did meet again in the world between their worlds, they were amazed that Light Malon and Dark Malon were not synchronized exactly. But they soon understood why. They both came back to that world many times through their lives, to meet with each other again. They were friends, friends forever. For together, they had managed to achieve the impossible.

_Blessed are those who preserve the forest, but still find a way to build the city. Blessed are those who do not choose one to die and the other to live, but find a way for both to survive._


End file.
